Training drinking cup

ABSTRACT

A training drinking cup is provided having a sipping rim that is configured to prevent spillage when drinking contents from the cup.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/650,434, filed on May 22, 2012, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The field generally relates to a drinking cup that is used to train achild how to drink properly from a cup without spilling the contentsthereof and, store specifically, to a training drinking cup having asipping rim that is configured to prevent spillage when drinkingcontents from the cup.

BACKGROUND

When first learning how to drink from a cup, children will typically usea sucking action from what they learned to do when sucking liquid from anipple of a bottle. For example, young children weaning off a bottletypically use what is referred to as a “Sippy” cup, which generally hasa lid with a spout extending therefrom. These “Sippy” cup designstypically have some mechanism, such as a valve mechanism inside the cup,which prevents liquid from spilling out from the spout when the cup isinverted or horizontal. A child, must suck on the spout to draw theliquid contained within the cup.

While “Sippy” cups assist a child in moving forward in his or herdevelopment toward, using a drinking cup, these cups do not help a childdevelop the ability to drink from a standard cop, that is, a cup thatdoes not require a sucking action. This is not beneficial, however,because in the next stage of the child's development, the child mustlearn how to drink from a cup without using a sucking action.

Therefore, a need exists for a drinking cup that can train a child todrink properly from a cup without using a sucking action and that willhelp to prevent spills while allowing the child to drink freely from thecup.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention generally include training drinking cupswith a sipping rim that is configured to prevent spillage when drinkingcontents from the cup. In one embodiment of the invention, a drinkingcup includes a body for holding liquid and a rim having an upper rimedge and a sipping edge. The sipping edge of the rim includes sidewalledges and a lower sipping edge, wherein the sidewall edges extenddownwardly from the upper rim edge to the lower sipping edge. In anotherembodiment, the lower sipping edge comprises a rounded, protruding lipelement.

These and other embodiments of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description of embodiments, which is to be readin conjunction with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a training drinking cup according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a training drinking cup according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a training drinking cup accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the training drinking cup ofFIG. 3 as viewed along line 4-4 in FIG. 3, according to an embodiment,of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the training drinking cup of FIG. 3as viewed along line 5-5 in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in further detailwith reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, which schematically depictvarious views of a training drinking cup (10) with a sipping rim (16,18) that is configured to prevent spillage when drinking contents fromthe cup. As generally shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the drinking cup(10) comprises a body (12) for holding liquid and a cup rim comprisingvarious edges (14), (16), and (18). In particular, the cap rim comprisesan upper rim edge (14) and a sipping rim portion (16, 18) comprisingsidewall (or sloping) edges (16), and a lower sipping edge (18). Thesidewall edges (16) extend sloping downwardly from the upper rim edge(14) to the lower sipping edge (16). In one embodiment of the invention,the sipping edge (18) comprises a rounded lip edge (18A), which has agreater thickness than the thickness of the walls of the body (12).Moreover, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, the overall shape of theupper rim 14 is oval-shaped, although the overall perimeter of the upperrim can have other shapes (e.g., circular).

With this exemplary design, an individual (e.g., child) drinking fromthe cup (10) would put his/her mouth on the sipping edge (18) and tiltthe cup body (12) towards his/her face. As the cup is tilted, thesidewall edges (16) of the sipping rim portion start to come in contactwith the individual's face (e.g., lips and cheeks) forming a “seal”against the individual's facial skin. This “seal” prevents liquid fromspilling over the sipping edge (18) at the sides oh the individual'smouth, as would possibly occur with conventional drinking cups with astandard one-level sipping rim.

The cop rim can have rounded transitions at points where the sidewalledges (16) meet the lower sipping edge (18) and the upper rim edge (14).The rounded transitions serve to (i) provide a better seal of the rimagainst the facial skin at the transition points between the lowersipping edge (18) and the sidewall edges (16), and to (ii) providecomfort from pinching or poking of the facial skin at the transitionpoints between the sidewall edges (16) and the upper rim edge (14). Therounded lip edge (18A) may be employed to ensure that there is a securearea under which the individual's bottom lip can rest and allow liquidto flow into the individual's mouth without seeping out from the bottomlip, and to otherwise provide a tactile comfortable area upon which anindividual can place his/her mouth to drink from the cup.

It is to be understood that the dimensions of the exemplary drinking cup(10) can vary according to the ounce content and the size and/or age ofthe individual using the drinking cup. For example, the size of theopening formed by the sipping edge (18) and sidewall edges (16) can varyin size, in general, small, medium, or large. The small and medium sizeopening dimensions can be made to accommodate month sizes of youngchildren, while large opening dimensions can be made to accommodatemouth sizes of adults. By way of further example, in one embodiment ofthe invention, for young children, an overall height of the cup can beapproximately five inches, and the distance between the sides of theupper rim 14 of the cup can be three inches across.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, a distance, d, between the upper portionsof the sidewall edges (16) can foe in a range of about 1 inch to about 2inches, and a distance, h, between the lower sipping edge (18) and theupper rim edge (14) can be in a range of about 0.5 inches to about 0.75inches. These dimensions are merely preferred embodiments, and shouldnot foe construed as limiting of the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

In another embodiment of the invention, as clearly shown in FIG. 2 and4, for example, the cup body (12) optionally comprises a back topportion (12A) that extends outwardly more than the middle section of thebody (12). This extended body portion (12A) allows a small child to tiltthe cup (10) towards his/her face to finish drinking the liquid contentin the lower portion of the cup body (12) without hitting the backportion (20) of the upper rim (14) against his/her forehead.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, as specifically shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, for example, one or more level indicators (22) (e.g.,rings or other markers) are included inside the cup body (12) at desiredincrements (e.g., one inch increments) from the bottom of the cup. Theone or more level indicators (22) will be visible looking down insidethe cup (10). When a young child is introduced to the training cup forthe first time, the parent or guardian can fill the drinking liquid to acertain level indicated by one of the level indicators (22) (e.g.,lowest first level) in order to not give the child too much to drink.This will start the child off with better control when first starting todrink, and prevent the child from possibly choking by taking in too muchliquid at once. Other level indicators (22) can be included at desiredincrements from, the bottom of the cup (10), e.g., two inches high,three inches high, and four inches high and so on. As the child getsmore familiar with drinking from the cap, the parent or guardian wouldadd more liquid from one inch to two inches and so on.

It is to be appreciated that a training cup according to an embodimentof the invention enables one to train a child for drinking from aregular cup without having to suck liquid though some port as with a“Sippy” cup. A training cup according to an embodiment of the inventionis especially advantageous to train young children in the age group of 1to 1½ years old, to break away from a conventional “Sippy” cup to aregular cup with minimum amount of spilling, when properly used. Atraining cup according to an embodiment of the invention obviates theneed for using “Sippy” cups for extended periods of time past thetoddler age, which can adversely affect the growth of a young child'steeth where the child can develop a bad habit of biting down on thespout of a Sippy cup, possibly not allowing a child's teeth to grow inproperly.

In other embodiments of the invention, the drinking cup may have otherutilitarian or ornamental design features. For instance, the back edge(20) of the upper rim (14) can be shaped as two small bumps or humps(20) (as clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 3) to accommodate drawings of eyesor ears that blend in with the cup and allow character faces, such asfrog eyes, to be incorporated as part of the ornamental aspects of thecup. The inside and outside of the cup can have many bright colors. Theoutside surface of the drinking cup may be textured at the midsection toassure a better grip for small hands. A drinking cup may includepictures of small animals, birds, bugs sports, rainbows, balloons,stars, superhero figures, etc., wherein the outside of the cup can havevarious types of character body designs to correspond with the characterface inside the cup. In other exemplary embodiments, handles in the formof ears, for example, can be included on each side near the top of thecup body (12).

It is to be understood that training drinking cups as described hereincan be formed from, any suitable materials such as plastic, paper,Styrofoam, glass, ceramic, etc. Furthermore, drinking cups with rimdesigns described herein can be used by adults in situations where theadults are lying back as in a hospital bed, reclining, or just walking.The drinking cups can be made for hot or cold liquids.

Although embodiments of the present invention, have been describedherein with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to those preciseembodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may bemade therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scopeof the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A drinking cup, comprising; a body for holding liquid; and arim comprising an upper rim edge, and a sipping edge comprising sidewalledges, and a lower sipping edge, wherein the sidewall edges extenddownwardly from the upper rim edge to the lower sipping edge.
 2. Thedrinking cup of claim 1, wherein the lower sipping edge comprises arounded, protruding lip element.
 3. The drinking cup of claim. 1,wherein the body comprises a protruding body portion disposed at anupper portion of the body opposite the sipping edge.